This project focuses on the neural basis of perceptual learning in visual cortex. Although plasticity has been well documented in visual cortex, the time course of plasticity and the kinds of changes that occur in visual neurons have not been fully characterized. The proposed experiments aim to explore the development and nature of visual plasticity due to extensive training by monitoring the evolution of cortical neuronal responses relative to the time course of behavioral change. The change of psychometric and neurometric contrast response functions and the change in correlation within neuronal ensembles will be explored as more sensitive measures of plasticity. An understanding of the mechanisms of change in the cerebral cortex as a result of training is potentially very important for the medical treatment of humans with various kinds of brain damage. In particular, the treatment of strokes and other focal brain lesions can gain insight from the research in this proposal. In addition, knowledge of the limits of visual cortical plasticity are important in understanding diseases such as amblyopia, in which there are known changes in the cortex as a result of a visual impairment.
| Jia, Xiaoxuan; Smith, Matthew A; Kohn, Adam (2011) Stimulus selectivity and spatial coherence of gamma components of the local field potential. J Neurosci 31:9390-403 |
| Churchland, Mark M; Yu, Byron M; Cunningham, John P et al. (2010) Stimulus onset quenches neural variability: a widespread cortical phenomenon. Nat Neurosci 13:369-78 |
| Kelly, Ryan C; Smith, Matthew A; Kass, Robert E et al. (2010) Local field potentials indicate network state and account for neuronal response variability. J Comput Neurosci 29:567-79 |
| Smith, Matthew A; Kohn, Adam (2008) Spatial and temporal scales of neuronal correlation in primary visual cortex. J Neurosci 28:12591-603 |
| Smith, Matthew A; Kelly, Ryan C; Lee, Tai Sing (2007) Dynamics of response to perceptual pop-out stimuli in macaque V1. J Neurophysiol 98:3436-49 |
| Kelly, Ryan C; Smith, Matthew A; Samonds, Jason M et al. (2007) Comparison of recordings from microelectrode arrays and single electrodes in the visual cortex. J Neurosci 27:261-4 |
